M&A

As retirement looms, the prospect of letting go of a business you built up from nothing can be painful. But the process was made a little easier – certainly financially – around 10 years ago. At that point, former chancellor George Osborne introduced tax breaks on companies opting to sell…

With three large employee-owned companies entering administration in the past year, CN asks if the model has inherent weaknesses Buckingham Group, Readie Construction and Michael J Lonsdale are among the biggest contractors to have gone under in the past 12 months. Factors identified by directors of these firms include inflation,…

Council-funded projects face an uncertain future as a once-steady source of work for contractors comes under financial strain. Keith Cooper reports Local authority-led projects to develop, remodel and maintain estates of town halls, leisure centres – and everything in between – feed a steady stream of work for contractors. Councils…

Clients, investors and economists gave their predictions for 2024 Construction News often covers the travails of contractors – but what about the other side of the industry? The new CN Forecasting event heard from clients, investors and economists about their view of the year ahead. These were their main predictions:…

Which projects are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? Keith Cooper reports Houses of Parliament Politicians and construction firms alike are standing by for more details on the beleaguered Palace of Westminster restoration. After more than 7,500 hours of surveys being carried out…

Which companies are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? ISG In November, ISG felt moved to issue a statement denying “unsubstantiated, wholly inaccurate and false claims” about its financial health”. However, it did not elaborate on the nature of these claims. Last year…

10. How do we make modular buildings safer? More than eight months after fire-service leaders published a five-page document outlining a litany of concerns about modular buildings, and more than a year-and-a-half after safety body Cross-UK highlighted the potential for concealed spread of fire inside extensive cavities within such structures,…

10. M&E contractor enters administration In August, former Mears subsidiary Haydon Mechanical & Electrical went into administration. The London-based £66.2m-turnover firm had more than 100 employees but was experiencing cashflow problems and posted a £6.2m pre-tax loss in its final accounts for the 18 months to 31 December 2021. An…

The number of business failures in the construction sector soared this year, reflecting microeconomic factors as well as the general malaise in the UK economy. Some 312 construction firms went into administration between January and October – a 58 per cent year-on-year increase and far exceeding the 2022 full-year total…

At a time when climate goals urgently demand innovative decarbonisation solutions, funding for green-tech startups in construction is evaporating Picture the scene: it’s 2050, and you’ve just signed a contract to build yet another flying-skateboard distribution centre. You compare materials sourced via the circular economy on an online database and…